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Caulfield Veterinary Clinic

Pocket Pets

Pocket pets are a great option if you live in a small space and you are looking for an interactive, intelligent, active, affectionate and entertaining pet.

Your rat or mouse will need a cage or aquarium with litter for bedding, a fresh water sipper and exercise equipment such as tunnels or wheels.

Rats need a varied diet with a rat food block and grain bowl and you can add in bits of fresh fruit and vegetable, yoghurt, cheese, and bits of meat.

If you have a pocket pet and would like to come and see us please call us on 9527 7740.

FEEDING GUIDE FOR GUINEA PIGS

Guinea pigs are herbivores that would usually spend many hours a day foraging and grazing on grass in small herds. Their teeth grow continuously throughout life, so they need a diet high in roughage to encourage chewing. Chewing helps to wear down their teeth and prevent serious dental problems. Providing sufficient fibre in their diet is also very important for both their gastrointestinal system and general health.

An ideal guinea pig diet should contain the following:

A constant supply of grass and/or grass hay (such as Timothy, Oaten, Wheaten, Pasture, Paddock, Meadow or Ryegrass hays). Guinea pigs should not be fed Lucerne (alfalfa) or Clover hays as they are too high in protein and calcium. Providing grass/grass hay is paramount in providing the ‘complete’ diet and encourages ‘chewing’ for long periods of time.

A dietary source of Vitamin C because (like humans), guinea pigs cannot synthesise Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) from other food substances. This is usually supplied sufficiently by the fresh leafy green veggies, but it is safer to supplement this with small quantities of vitamin C rich foods such as citrus or kiwi fruit. (Commerical Vitamin C supplements added to their drinking water or Vitamin C in commerical feeds are not reliable sources of vitamin C)

High quality commercial ‘Guinea Pig’ pellets (minimum 16% fibre content) may be offered in small quantities, but these should not form the main part of the diet

Access to clean fresh water at all times

If you need to change your guinea pig's diet, please make sure you introduce any changes gradually over a few weeks.